


The Sage of Fluffy the Space Unicorn

by woodelf



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV), Stargate Universe
Genre: Fluffy unicorns to be precise, Gen, Originally Posted on Tumblr, and unicorns, nothing here but fluff, what more could you possibly want
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-13
Updated: 2019-10-13
Packaged: 2020-12-14 07:42:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,986
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21012209
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/woodelf/pseuds/woodelf
Summary: Just another day on a new planet, gathering supplies and meeting new friends. Based on a prompt by RipperBlackStaff.





	The Sage of Fluffy the Space Unicorn

The planet that the Destiny had come out of FTL next to stretched out before the eyes of the exploration team, looking like an idyllic winter day on Earth. Firmly-packed snow crunched underfoot and lay thickly on the drooping branches of the pine-like trees which bordered the clearing they had landed in. The air smelled crisp and clean and wonderfully refreshing after the constantly recirculated stale air aboard the ship. Sensor readings had picked up water sources in the form of lakes and streams, besides the snow itself, and the presence of some medium-sized animals which could be a valuable source of protein, as well as such things as the leather from their hides.

One of those medium-sized animals was standing not twenty feet away, gazing at them with open curiousity.

“It’s a unicorn,” Belle whispered, full of awe.

“A Wooly Unicorn,” Chloe agreed with a giggle. For indeed the animal, the size of a small deer with a single horn protruding from its forehead was covered in a warm, shaggy coat of white with just a hint of blue to it. 

“I’ve never had a unicorn burger before,” said Eli with relish.

“You can’t kill it!” Belle protested. 

“That _is_ what we’re here for,” Greer pointed out, his gun at the ready.

“Actually, Belle’s right,” Rush put in. “ We shouldn’t kill this one until we’ve located the rest of the herd. Looks like it might not be full-grown yet, anyway. We want to thin out the adult males, preferably, leave a viable breeding population.”

“Why isn’t it running away?” Greer demanded. 

“Perhaps because it doesn’t know that you’re here to kill and eat it?” suggested Rush drily. 

“It looks intelligent,” Belle observed, watching the unicorn’s greeny-gold cats’ eyes.

“It does,” agreed Chloe, obviously just as enchanted with the beast as Belle was. “Hey there,” she said softly, stepping forward a pace with her hand outstretched palm up. 

The unicorn snorted and retreated an equal distance.

“That’s not gonna work,” Eli scoffed. “They only come to virgins, you know.” Chloe turned a cold stare on him and he quickly babbled on. “Not that there’s anything wrong with not being a virgin, god knows I wish –” his brain caught up to his mouth and he paused “– that people didn’t feel pressured to rush into sex these days.” He became aware of several pairs of eyes upon him. “Hey, don’t look at me like that. Just because I’m the youngest one here doesn’t mean I haven’t had any sexual experience.”

“Uh-huh.” Greer was grinning. “Your hand doesn’t count, Math Boy. Why don’t you see what the nice, friendly unicorn thinks of you?”

“I’m not approaching a wild animal with a weapon fixed to its head,” he protested. “And besides it wouldn’t work.”

“Of course not, ” Rush agreed, but Eli could hear the smirk in his voice. “And very wise. It could be dangerous.”

Eli glared at him, then squared his shoulders. Any creature that backed away from a little slip of a thing like Chloe would surely back away from him. He held out his hand and took a step towards the unicorn. “Hi, little soon-to-be-burger –” The unicorn retreated a step and Eli turned towards the others, triumphant. “See?”

“All right,” said Greer, amused. “Let’s split up and see what we can find. Signs of more animals, water, food of any sort, you know the drill. Eli and Chloe, you’re with me.”

The unicorn tagged along with Rush and Belle, sometimes disappearing from sight for a while before popping back into view again, obviously curious about their activities.

“Do you think it’s lost, separated from its herd?” Belle worried, gathering samples of some evergreen bushes bedecked with bright scarlet berries. In another bag she was collecting some of the pinecones, in the hope that some might not have dropped all their seeds.

Rush shook his head. “I don’t know.” While they'd found some cloven hoofprints in the snow, and signs of browsed foliage, they hadn’t caught even a glimpse of any other unicorn. With the wintry conditions, there was little hope of finding any nuts or fruits, but they gathered what they could. Rush filled another bag with samples of bark and needles from the piney trees to be analyzed for any potential use, and a jar with a good amount of sap, which he hoped would have some turpentine-like qualities. Some larger fallen branches for wood were loaded onto their hover sled. The ground proved too hard to uproot a small sapling for transplantation to the biodome; Rush declared Greer could have a go at that task if he wanted. They came upon the stream, iced up along the edges but free-running in the center, and Rush cautiously clambered out onto some rocks until he was able to lower a canteen into the water to collect a sample. He tested it on the spot, while Belle hovered nearby.

“I haven’t seen Fluffy in a while,” she remarked, their sometime companion having been jokingly named over the course of the afternoon.

“Mm,” Rush replied distractedly, then looked up in satisfaction. “Perfectly drinkable,” he pronounced, and proceeded to take a swig from the canteen. “Cold!” he gasped, giving his shoulders a quick shake. “But good. Try?” He proffered the canteen and Belle took a swig and had a similar reaction.

“Brr!”

Rush glanced at the sun, which was already starting its descent. “We’ll fill our canteens, but we’ve enough time here to leave the filling of the large water tanks until morning.” He radioed in their coordinates to the ship, and checked in with Greer. “Any sign of more animals?”

“Yeah, we’ve found trails and droppings, but not seen any actual beasts yet. Maybe they become more active at dusk, like on Earth. Speaking of which, it’s time you two head back to the landing craft, Doctor. The sun’s setting.”

“We noticed. All right, we’ll meet you there. Rush out.” He turned to Belle. “Ready to head back?”

“Can we just sit for a couple of minutes first, have a snack?” she asked.

“Yes, of course.” He looked around and headed for a fallen tree trunk, brushing the snow off of it. “How about here?”

Belle joined him on the makeshift seat and dug into her pack for the Becker-concocted energy bar she carried. Rush shrugged out of his pack and got out his own, his head still bent over as he unwrapped the bar when Belle put a hand on his knee.

“Nick,” she whispered. “Turn around, slowly. It’s Fluffy.”

Rush turned slowly and looked into a pair of bright, inquisitive eyes close enough that he could have reached out and touched the white head that was stretched out towards the bar in his hand, nostrils flaring in interest.

“It smells the food,” Belle whispered.

With a minimum of movement, Rush broke off a corner of the bar and flicked it onto the ground in front of him. The unicorn drew back briefly, then lowered its head to sniff the offering and pick it up with delicate lips. It turned to watch them out of one eye as it chewed in a thoughtful manner.

“See if it will take a piece from your hand,” Belle whispered.

“Why don’t you try?” He watched as Belle broke off a bit of her bar and held it out on the palm of her hand. The unicorn stretched out its neck, sniffing again, then moved forward, brushing right past Rush and coming to a halt with its warm, furry body pressed up against Rush’s legs as it took the treat and stayed there, calmly munching, having obviously discarded any reservations about them. Nick pulled off one of his gloves and carefully laid his hand on the unicorn’s back, sliding his fingers into the long, soft fur, feeling the heat of the animal beneath. Gently he stroked it, hardly daring to breathe, and was rewarded by the animal turning to look at him then leaning into his touch with an unmistakable sound of pleasure vibrating its throat. 

“Oh, Nick,” Belle reached out and caressed the silken neck, a look of wonder on her face, and he knew exactly how she felt, to be gifted with the trust of a wild animal. "We have to do something; we can’t let them kill Fluffy.“

Rush was not a sentimental man, but the thought of eating a Fluffy-burger did not appeal to him either. "We could tie something around its neck to mark it out, but I’d worry about it catching on something and causing damage. You don’t happen to have any lipstick or nail polish on you, do you?” he asked without much hope.

Belle snorted. “Do I look like I’m even wearing any?” she demanded. Suddenly her face lit up. “The berries!” She jumped up to get them from the hover sled, causing Fluffy to startle away.

“Damn!” Rush cursed, and Belle froze, realising what she’d done.

“Can you get it to come back?” she asked.

“Come on, Fluffy,” Rush coaxed, mentally thanking god that no one else was around to hear him and breaking off another small piece of the energy bar and holding it out. “Belle didn’t mean to frighten you. There’s a good boy. Or are you a girl? Can’t tell with all that fur.” His voice was low, soft, crooning, and step by step the unicorn was coming back, until he could lay his hand on it again, gently stroking as it nibbled its reward. “Get the berries,” he told Belle. “Move slowly, and quietly.”

Carefully Belle did as instructed, and returned to Rush’s side. The unicorn was obviously enjoying the attention, its head pressed into Rush’s body as he scratched behind its ears. “Can’t you tell if it’s a boy or girl from this close up? I’m sick of calling it an "it”.“ She tried to peer beneath Fluffy’s furry belly, to no avail.

"No,” said Rush briefly.

“Couldn’t you…check?” she suggested hopefully.

“And get kicked in the face by a wild animal for groping between its legs?” he demanded incredulously.

“Just…go slow, and be gentle.”

“I can’t believe you’re asking me to do this!” Belle simply gazed at him until he muttered something darkly beneath his breath and cautiously began to run his hand over Fluffy’s rump, and down the haunch. The tufted, ropy tail lashed, and the unicorn stamped in irritation, briefly drawing its hind leg up high enough for Rush to see, or, rather, not see.

“Girl,” he said briefly.

“Okay, what should I do with the berries?” Belle asked.

“Squash some – leave your gloves on – and rub the juice along her horn. See if it will pick up the stain.”

Belle did so, and reached out to gently smear the berry juice along the spiralled horn, leaving a scarlet streak behind. Fluffy lifted her head, moving her horn out of Belle’s reach, but didn’t back away. Rush soothed her, combing his fingers through the fur at her shoulder.

“Do you think it will stick?” Belle wondered, eyeing her handiwork. “Maybe we should put some on her fur as well?” But she didn’t really like the idea of marring that beautiful white coat.

“No.” Rush shook his head. “Her fur would be more absorbent than the horn, if it absorbs at all, and I don’t want to mark her too brightly. The fact that there are more woods than open spaces makes me think any predators would hunt more by scent than sight, but I’m hoping this won’t be too permanent.”

Suddenly Rush’s radio crackled to life, and Fluffy sprang away. This time Rush let her go.

“Greer here. Where are you guys? It’s getting late.”

“We’re on our way back right now, Sergeant,” Rush said crisply. “We’ll be at the Gate shortly. Rush out.” He stood, putting the radio away and pulling his glove back on. “Come on,” he told Belle, “Let’s get moving.”

Fluffy waited until she saw them moving away with the sled before trotting after them, frisking around them in circles as if finally tired of their slow pace. “Maybe we don’t have to worry about Fluffy if she stays with us,” Belle laughed.

“I’m not sure it’s good she’s becoming so attached to us,” Rush admitted. “Maybe she’s an orphan? I’d rather see her back with the herd.” The unicorn finally fell back as they came in reach of the Gate and the other crew members waiting for them.

“Hey, is that the same unicorn?” Chloe exclaimed.

“Yeah, she’s been following us all day,” Belle said.

“We found the others, a couple of small herds north of here, near the lake,” Greer informed them. “I think one’s a breeding herd, and the other is a group of bachelor males. We can take several of those for meat tomorrow, and start filling the water barrels as well.”

“How big are they?” asked Rush. “We wondered if Fluffy was a youngster that got separated from her herd.”

Greer considered. “Some were definitely a bit bigger. We saw one taking a whiz, so we thought maybe the males ran larger.”

“FLUFFY?” echoed Eli.

“Aye, well, that’s what Belle started calling her.”

“Um, is her horn all right?” Eli asked. “It looks a bit bloody from here.”

“We smeared some berries on it, as a marker. Please, would you mind not shooting Fluffy tomorrow?” Belle looked at Greer, who chuckled.

“Unless she joins up with the bachelor herd, she should be all right, but I’ll let everyone know to watch out for her horn just in case.”

“But that means you got close enough to touch her!” Chloe said excitedly

“Just before we headed back,” Rush confirmed. “Lured in by a trail bar.”

“Were the others all in a group?” asked Belle.

“Well, they were spread out, and kind of hard to tell on the ground. But I would say they were all within calling distance of one another. Nobody wandering around wanting to make friends with aliens like this little guy,” Greer answered. “All right, let’s take our stuff back to the ship, and in the morning a team can start on the water collection and hunting.”

—————————

“_What?”_

“I’m sorry, Miss French, you had your day out yesterday,” Colonel Young said implacably. “The only person who is going out again today is Sgt. Greer, so he can show the others where the lake is and where the herds were sighted.”

Belle stared at him mulishly for a moment, then stalked over to Greer.“Sergeant. What is the one thing you are _not _to do today?”

Watching, Rush saw a corner of Greer’s mouth twitch.

“We are not to harm the native life-form previously designated as ‘Fluffy’,” he replied, looking like he was struggling to keep a straight face. 

“_Fluffy?”_ Young echoed.

Rush bit the inside of his lip to keep from laughing.

“That is correct,” said Belle firmly. “Oh, and if you see her hanging around, could you let me know?” She gave him her winningest smile.

“Sure, I don’t see why not,” Greer agreed. 

The first report came in not long after the hunting and water-collecting party had gone through the gate. “Greer here. Fluffy has showed up. She’s staying at a distance, but it looks like she’s going to follow us to the lake. If she did get separated from her herd, we’ll be leading her back into her home territory; so maybe she’ll hook up with them again.”

“That would be great,” enthused Belle. “As long as you don’t shoot her. Is the berry stain still visible?”

“It’s not bright, but it’s there if you’re looking for it,” confirmed Greer. “No worries about accidentally shooting her.”

“Oh, that’s good.” Belle smiled widely, relieved. “Keep us updated. Thank you, Sergeant. Destiny out.”

The second report came about 20 minutes later. “We’ve reached the lake,” Greer radioed. “Fluffy seems excited. She came down to drink on the side opposite from us and is trotting back and forth, scenting the air, I think.”

“Can you give us a Kino image?” Rush asked.

“Can do. Hold on a minute.”

The console screen changed to show an image of a small lake. It zoomed in on the pacing unicorn in the snow, who finally veered off towards the tree line and stopped short, stretching out her neck and letting forth a beautiful, bell-like note that seemed to reverberate even inside the Destiny.

“Wow,” said Young.

They held their breaths, waiting, and then a reply came. Fluffy called again, a higher note, pivoting in a spray of thrown snow to sprint for the place where the other call had come from. Three white shapes emerged from the trees, meeting Fluffy in a whirl of half-rearing bodies and excited squeals. There was no doubt in anyone’s mind that the unicorns knew each other.

“She’s found her family.” Belle squeezed Rush’s hand, beaming at the screen. 

“I might be having an emotion,” Greer admitted from the surface of the planet

Rush felt an unaccustomed warmth spread through him and squeezed Belle’s hand back. Family was important.

“Looks like it,” Young agreed. “Just like a Disney movie. Well, except for – never mind.” He decided not to bring up the fact that they’d hopefully be dining on unicorn steaks for a while. And fashioning warm jackets and mittens from the pelts. And undoubtedly the horns would come in useful for something. Maybe calling them monoceros steaks would sound better. Yes, monoceros definitely sounded less cuddly than 'unicorn’.

“Okay, everyone," he said briskly. "Back to work. That goes for you, too, Greer. Thanks the visual.”

“Yes, sir. Greer out.”

The image of the reunited unicorns in the snow disappeared from the console. Young turned away from it, and caught sight of Rush’s face. Hell, if the unicorns could not only affect Greer, but cause Nicholas _Rush_ to smile like that –

Yep. Monoceri. They were definitely going to call them Monoceri.


End file.
